Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, has called for an urgent review into the day to day running of the NHS by the Scottish Government following the news that Scotland had the third worst excess death rate in the world.

This follows a report from the National Records of Scotland which shows that Scotland has one of the highest ‘excess deaths’ rates in the world. ‘Excess death is the term used when discussing all deaths that have occurred in a period – rather than just those deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. ‘Excess deaths’ are seen as the best indicator of Covid-19 mortalities.

Scotland’s ‘excess death’ rate is 861 cases per one million people. This is higher than almost every other country which has been impacted badly by Covid-19. Scotland comes in ahead of Italy and Germany and is only slightly behind the rates of Spain and the United States.

Jackie Baillie has repeatedly raised concerns on the extent to which Scotland has been affected by Covid-19. West Dunbartonshire has the second highest number of Covid-19 deaths per head of the population.

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“It is becoming increasingly clear that the headline figures for Covid-19 deaths, which are themselves worryingly high, mask the even more grim reality of the impact of this pandemic on lives in Scotland. My thoughts are with the family and friends of everyone who has lost their life during this crisis.

“Thousands of lives have been lost as resources were focused on tackling Covid-19, but in the meantime the ‘tsunami’ Nicola Sturgeon said she was safeguarding against has taken place in our care homes. The Scottish Government has a duty of care to every one of its citizens, and especially to the most vulnerable in society.

“Ministers must urgently review the allocation of resources and cancellation of non-Covid NHS procedures, to ensure this worrying pattern does not continue.”